Teams built for success on and off the field and court

If there is a common theme shared by our local championship level sports teams, the Lovell volleyball team and the Rocky Mountain football team, it is this: They play for each other.

There is a special chemistry in play on winning teams. Sometimes pure talent prevails, but nine times out of 10 it isn’t the team with the better athletes that wins the big game, it’s the team that works well together, communicates well, works hard and, perhaps most important, has players who don’t care who gets the credit.

Jealousy and spite can tear a team apart, but sharing the love can lift a team to new heights.

A case in point is the state champion Lovell volleyball team. On every serve, with the point won or lost, teammates support and encourage each other. On a winning point, the players on the court high five and hug, while teammates on the bench rise to cheer and clap, sometimes performing jumping bumps.

Yes, many teams celebrate success and encourage each other, but the Lady Bulldogs take it to a new level, and that constant encouragement from teammates played a huge role during the team’s championship season. We like the culture Coach Tera Kostelecky and her assistants are building at LHS.

Likewise, the Rocky Mountain football team made an impressive run this season, going from a single win last season to the state championship game on Saturday in Laramie, and while they struggled against a talented Pine Bluffs squad, they proved that sticking together and staying the course will reap dividends. The Grizz just might have peaked emotionally a week early in their heart-stopping win over the Greybull Buffs on November 7, but we like what coach Jessee Wilson is building.

We like the season the Rocky volleyball team had under coach Kay Townsend, playing with spirit and strong teamwork, and the Lovell Bulldog football squad showed grit during an injury-plagued season. We respect head coach Nicc Crosby for his dedication to the overall picture of “developing men built for others.” Coach Crosby realizes that there are life lessons to be learned in sports, but it’s not just dealing with things on the field and court, it’s teaching respect, selflessness, honor and service to others in the community. Such traits far transcend what takes place on the field.